This is a very powerful thread. I can barely stand to hear "Bonnie Susie Cleland," it moves me too much. In Helen Schneyer's version, she doesn't die because she's pregnant, but because she's just as bloody stubborn and fierce as her family and they hold the power. So when she won't give in, in effect she chooses to die rather than let them control the rest of her life.

But this thread makes the song even more poignant because of all that it says about parental and societal abuse of women or [of anyone who happens to be in a situation where they're powerless against an outside controlling force.]

I won't mention any of the other examples in today's world. "Too fierce to mention".... but it's nice to see other people being moved by the bigger picture behind the song. ... I may even be able to learn it now.... - Rita Ferrara